


Miracuclass Appreciation Month

by milkywhey



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Miracuclass Appreciation Month, More tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-05 11:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15862704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkywhey/pseuds/milkywhey
Summary: With all the akuma attacks happening in their lives, on top of their normal teen problems, it is difficult for the students of Miss. Bustier's class to find solace and comfort when and where they need it most. Luckily, they have mutual support, and through forming bonds individually and as a whole, they know they aren't alone through it all.(Filling in the prompts for Miracuclass Appreciation Month)





	1. Hide

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this (https://purrincess-chat.tumblr.com/post/177624875268/miracuclass-appreciation-month) post and I knew I couldn't not do it. So here I am, already having no idea if I'm doing this right or not. I am also trash with technology, so this may or may not end up on tumblr, idk. Anyway, here it is, and I will do my best to fill in the rest of the prompts for the month.

Prompt 1: Hide

...

Nowadays, it wasn’t too unusual for akumas to attack around or directly at Francoise Dupont, leading teachers to many different ways of handling it.

Any student who has been in Ms. Mendeleiev’s class while an akuma victim was attacking knew that she got beyond mad- and perhaps rightfully so. She despised disrupted lessons, even more so when it was the doings of a supervillain.

Monsieur D’Argentcourt, more often than not, ran away in fear before the kids had a chance to ask him what they should do during an attack. He always apologized the next day or so, and most kids accepted it, similarly knowing the feeling of wanting to run and hide.

Teachers and students alike had different ways of handling the situation of akumas, but suggestions have been made for a more effective alternative. The principal had suggested that they get an akuma alarm, similar to their fire alarms. The idea had been shut down as quick as it came up by several teachers who argued that the akumas were too random to have a efficient alert. The janitor mentioned that they build an actual roof over the courtyard, but the awkward stares and the invisible looming of the word ‘ _money_ ’ hanging in the air made that answer as clear as day.

Miss Bustier’s class seemed to have some of the worst luck with akumas, but they also had some of the most odd reactions. Nearly the whole class had been akumatized at one point, two of the students were famous for coming up with excuses on the fly while running out of the room, and another was known for her tendency to run straight towards the danger, all while the rest of the class hid.

This morning was like any other, but right from the start of class Miss Bustier felt like something bad would happen. Attendance went without any trouble, and so did the routinely morning compliments. It was only peaceful until a resounding boom echoed not too far from the school building, followed by several screams of terror.

Adrien and Marinette were out of their seats and through the door faster than a bat out of hell, spewing nonsense excuses out of their mouths. Alya followed only a moment after, phone in hand and camera set up. The members of the class left behind looked at the teacher anxiously.

Miss Bustier sighed in defeat, pointed to the door and simply said, “go hide in the locker rooms, and be sure to stay safe.”

Everyone instantly sprang out of their seats cautiously made way to the locker rooms, catching sight of other students cowering behind large objects and the creases in walls. When they arrived at their determined spot they locked the door and settled uncomfortably against the walls.

After spending a few moments in silence, Nino broke it with an offhand comment. “As much as I hate to admit this, it would be amazing to actually get some class time to finish work. I hate having so much homework after school.”

Alix snorted, pointing to Max in the corner. “Never stopped him.”

Max looked up from the notes and textbooks he had managed to snag before they left the classroom. “It, uh, admittedly aids me to keep my mind off the akuma attacks.”

As if the akuma heard him, another crash was heard from outside, sounding a whole lot closer to the school. Everyone shuddered.

“I get it,” Nathaniel murmured, glancing up from his sketchbook. “I try to grab materials to draw with every time an attack happens, that way I have something to distract me.”

“I never thought about it like that,” Nino admitted. “I should start bringing something to keep my mind off Alya.”

He received some weird stares.

“Not like that!” Nino shifted his eyes to the ground, dragging his pointer finger along the surface and subconsciously making small shapes. “I get kind of nervous y’know? With her running into danger for the Ladyblog and all.”

“I understand too, Nino!” Mylène softly stated, further burying herself into Ivan’s side. “It really helps me to get over my fear of akumas when Ivan’s here with me.”

Another loud boom from outside.

Rose whimpered fearfully, and Juleka held her hand tighter in response. “I don’t think I could handle it if Rose walked into danger like Alya does,” the dark haired girl muttered full heartedly, albeit quiet.

“That’s how I felt about Alya at first too. But she proved to herself and me that she doesn’t need me or anyone else to coddle her all the time.” Nino explained, eyes still glued to the floor.

“Actually, I remember it more like Alya threatened to break your DJ equipment if you kept interrupting her videos by asking if she needs protection.” Kim unhelpfully commented from behind him. Everybody laughed a little.

“Thanks for the help, bro,” Nino replied snidely, promptly ignoring Kim’s equally sarcastic response. “But all of that aside, it still doesn't keep me from worrying.”

A few claps resonated throughout the air, breaking whatever peaceful atmosphere they had built. “Great!” Chloé butted in, her voice full of fake sympathy. “Now that we’ve had a little heartfelt moment can somebody please get an update on the akuma situation. Daddy reserved the best seats for lunch at the hotel and I need to have the roads clear for my driver to get me there.”

“None of us have our phones Chloé, they're all back in the classroom.” Rose supplied kindly, smiling at the class bully.

The truth was that many of them had their phones on them, but none of them were fond of the news nowadays. It was always filled with akuma alerts, or footage of the akumas, or a new article written on how to grasp positive emotions better so as not to become a victim of the akuma-

It just wasn’t pleasant.

(And the only reason Chloé didn’t have her phone is because she kept it in her designer purse instead of her pockets because, quote on quote from the brat herself, ‘her designer pants pockets weren’t made to stretch for a phone’. Adrien, who always kept his phone in his pocket, had given her a sidelong glance that said otherwise).

Max made the mistake of having his phone out to use as a calculator and unfortunately he could not slip it away slyly before Chloé took notice.

“Max has his.”

Alix rolled her eyes. “Give it up Chloé. Maybe you should just, oh I don’t know, walk to the hotel if the streets aren’t cleared by then.”

“And have sore feet for the rest of the day? Absolutely not!” The blonde stuck her nose high in the air, arms crossed and hips cocked to the side. “Besides, if the roads aren’t clear then that means Ladybug and Chat Noir are still fighting the akuma. I can't just walk through all that.”

Sabrina, who had silently been agreeing with Chloé from behind her, pulled her own phone out and handed it reluctantly to Chloé. “Here you are, Chloé.”

Chloé greedily snatched it from her, muttering angrily, “why didn’t you say anything sooner?!”

Everyone fell back into silence soon after, determinedly trying to deter their minds from the distant noise of the fighting. All was well until they heard the news report that Chloé was listening to.

“Ugh.” Chloé inched the phone closer to her face, trying to see the battle happening in the background of the news report more clearly. “The akuma’s right at the front of the school. This is so inconvenient!”

They all heard an audible gulp, and turned to Mylène who was starting to tremble in fear. “R-right outside the school?”

“D-did I s-stutter?” Chloé mocked viciously.

Ivan growled deeply at her while he rest of the class gave her icy glares. Rose however stood up and started to defend Mylène. “Chloé, please don’t be rude. Can’t you see that Mylène is just scared?”

“I’m sorry, everybody.” Mylène weakly apologized. “I know I’m a big scaredy cat.”

“Nah, dudette, it’s totally chill,” Nino protested, still giving Chloé a cold stare. “It’s Chloé just being her usual insensitive self.”

“Nino’s right, Chloé,” Nathaniel spoke up from his corner. “Just because Ladybug will reverse the damage afterwards doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be cautious beforehand. The akumas can cause serious damage.”

Everyone except Chloé nodded in agreement.

Max was still pouring over his homework, but asked a question without looking up. “Haven’t you ever been scared of an akuma, Chloé?”

“Of course I haven’t.”

Discouraged groans bounced off the small room. Alix, however, just gave a small breathless laugh. “Of course she hasn’t. She doesn’t have any feelings, didn’t you know?”

To their credit, no one laughed.

Chloé frowned, looking very displeased with her claim. “Of course I have feelings!”

“Then why can’t you have a little sympathy for the rest of us?” Ivan asked desperately. “The rest of us are actually frightened by the akumas, and we don’t all have a rich father to protect us. We all try to support each other, so why can’t you?”

Chloé looked absolutely speechless while everybody waited for her response. Sabrina eventually came to her aid. “Guys, maybe Chloé just doesn’t get afraid because she knows Ladybug will fix everything after. It makes it seem easier to deal with it if you trust somebody to keep you safe, right?”

The class settled for a silent agreement, and Chloé looked relieved that someone came to her defense.

After a few moments, Kim broke the silence once again. “If we all trust in each other, why can't you?”

She never answered.

The noise outside seemed to have died down immensely, the only sound in the room being that of two pencils on paper, and the quiet hum of Nino’s headphones which were probably at a higher volume than they should be. It took a while longer, but soon enough someone knocked on the door, signalling that it was okay to come out. Upon opening the door, they saw Ladybug standing on the other side with a smile on her face.

“Hey everybody! The akuma’s been taken care of, so you can all head back to class. Is everyone alright?”

A collective amount of nods and relieved smiles assured her, and the classmates started heading to wherever they needed to be. Chloé looked hesitant upon leaving, and Ladybug took notice, catching her before she left.

“You’re Chloé right?” The spotted heroine asked, tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

The blonde nodded, simply stating. “It’s getting easier to not be afraid.”

She walked away after that, and didn’t look back on Ladybug. If she did, she would have noticed Ladybug’s look of approval and relief.


	2. Working Together

Prompt 2: Working Together

...

When any member of the class started backtracking to previous events planned for their class, it caused anyone to grimace slightly. They had tried so many different things and every single one had ended up terribly, either the fault of certain blonde classmate or an akuma.

They organized a trip around Paris for a historical scavenger hunt once, and it ended with Chloé being dumped in a fountain, Kim attempting to climb the Arc de Triomphe, and a race down the Champs-Élysées on scooter boards. That last one in particular almost ended tragically, but none of them talk about that.

The day they were supposed to be gaining work experience at the Grand Paris hotel instead gave them experience in how to avoid a camera if need be, and how to avoid Chloé’s bad side so they don’t end up taking out the trash or being a crocodile-sitter for the entirety of the day.

Miss. Bustier tried to host a trip to a dinosaur museum, but once they each forked over a few bucks to buy a giant slinky in the gift shop, their teacher returned to Alix’s head stuck in one end and Nino’s feet stuck in the other. They had to get pliers to snap the plastic in half, and on the bus ride back to school everyone witnessed the red line marks left behind by the slinky on Alix’s face.

And that one time they tried to host a cooking class, courtesy of Marinette's father, Chloé had ruined the whole experience by setting off the fire alarm and afterwards it was followed by nearly two hours of chores.

Needless to say the principal was on the brink of cutting off any funding or permission they had to hold any field trips, but only specifically for their class. Every other class seemed to follow rules and behave, but they always had knack for trouble, intentional or not. Miss. Bustier was horribly stubborn though, and persisted that the principal allows for one more trial run so they could prove that they are able to do something fun without it getting out of hand.

So, here they are, once again trying to follow a cooking class led by Tom.

This time they were in the home economics room, where they had more room to work and were able to bake something of their own. The class was loud and bursting with excitement, and the kids had brought in their aprons from home just for a little extra fun.

“Alright, class, listen up please.” Miss. Bustier clapped her hands once to gain their attention and in a few seconds they were listening attentively. “Thank you. Now, the principal has allowed for us to give another shot at something fun, but if we ever want to do this again, you have to behave, understood?”

Everyone nodded.

Miss. Bustier smiled in relief. “Good! I know you are all capable of doing it,” she encouraged before stepping off to the side. “Mr. Dupain, I’ll hand it over to you now.”

Once Tom started teaching, everything went well. The kids all circled around the table he was working at and watched as he did a step-by-step procedure of how to make cream puffs, and then how to make the filling. The kids took whatever notes on whatever detail it was that they thought they’d need for later, just in case they forgot. Tom ended up making perfectly shaped and beautiful pastries, but most of the students knew they wouldn’t reach that level.

So then came the baking.

Miss. Bustier had stepped in by this point, now taking over the rest of the lesson. “I hope you all paid attention very carefully. Now, since we have limited ingredients, I will put you into groups, okay?”

Everyone gave confirmation.

“Let’s see, we have group one; Alya, Rose and Juleka. Group two is Sabrina, Ivan and Max, group three is Marinette, Adrien- ”

Marinette choked.

When Alya turned to ask her what was wrong, she was met with a smile stretching from one side of Marinette’s face to the other, looking like she just won the lottery.

“-and Chloé.”

Marinette choked a bit harsher.

The rest of the names were called out, but Marinette could not pay attention to any of them, instead focusing on the fact that she might’ve landed herself in the best group or the worst.

The class was then separated to different tables, ingredients already out and recipe book in front of them.

Marinette hesitated in starting their task, alternatively spending her time watching Adrien as he prepared their bowls and measuring spoons. The blonde was adorned in a pastel green apron with an embedded black cat face on the front, looking unfairly adorable as he moved about.  

She was so wrapped in watching him that she didn’t recognize a presence behind her, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice near her ear say, “back off, he’s mine.”

Upon turning around, she was met with an angry looking Chloé.

“I-I wasn’t cooking at him- I mean l-looking, at. Him?” She stammered out, trying to play off the fact that she was shamelessly ogling the model.

“Yeah, well, just don’t get in the way of me and Adrien, capiche?” Chloé asked, although it wasn’t really warranted for an answer. Marinette just grumbled in response.

Adrien was done setting up at this point, and looked at the two girls with concern. “Is everything alright?”

Chloé nodded, demeanor changing into one of innocence and happiness. “Of course, Adrikins.”

“Great!” Adrien grinned, turning to the recipe book. “I think it would be best to measure everything first. Does that work best, Marinette? I bet you know a lot more about baking than I do.”

Marinette snapped her attention from her anger at Chloé to Adrien once she heard her name being addressed. She nodded, answering with, “yeah, we can do that Adrien, good thinking!”

The model positively beamed at the small compliment, setting to work on measuring the stick of butter. Marinette’s heart leaped for a moment.

“Okay then, I’ll measure the water,” Chloé offered, taking the largest measuring cup and heading over to the water tap.

Marinette took it upon herself to put a pot on the stovetop, then turned just in time to watch Adrien cutting the butter stick so that only one third of the end was left. He brought the plate over to the pot and dropped the majority of butter into it.

Although he had done it, he didn’t look convinced he had done it correctly. “I hope I measured it right..."

Marinette gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s pretty hard to mess up cutting a stick of butter.”

Adrien smiled back at her, but when what she said caught up to her, she instantly started to panic. “I-I mean not that you mess up anyway, you could never do anything incorrectly; you’re so perfect.” She panicked again once his face changed to bewilderment. “No! I mean that you are perfect with butter, wait, what?”

Her stammering went on for a few more moments, and in those few seconds, Marinette was so involved with her conversation that she didn’t see Chloé dump nearly three cups of water into the pot, or see her start to boil it. When she did finally turn around, Chloé was standing over a mixture of boiled butter and water, which would have been fantastic if the ratio didn’t look horribly uneven.

Marinette quickly set to pouring the pre-measured flour and salt into the liquid mixture before it could boil over. She started to mix it, turning her attention to Chloé while doing so.

“Chloé,” Marinette tentatively asked. “Exactly how much water did you put in there?”

The blonde looked highly offended by her implication. “I put in exactly the right amount, duh. What, you don’t think I can measure water?”

“She never said that Chloé,” Adrien cut in. “She just wants to make sure the recipe turns out good in the end. We don’t want mushy cream puffs, do we?”

“No,” she responded.

Marinette glanced back at the mixture she was stirring, noticing it was not forming into a doughy ball at all. It looked like slime. There was absolutely no way that this was just one cup of water, but without any evidence of Chloé’s terrible measuring skills she couldn’t go accusing her.

“Well, the mixture is looking a little, uh, liquid-y,” she grimaced slightly at the understatement. She then locked eyes with Adrien. “Could you keep stirring while I measure out a bit more flour and butter?”

Adrien graciously stepped in for her and started to mix the contents of the pot while Marinette grabbed a smaller measuring cup for the flour. Chloé was beside her now, with Adrien to her left.

Chloé was watching the dark haired girl with hawk eyes as she filled a little portion of the cup with flour, and then scooped up some that had fallen on the counter. She examined it like it was some foreign alien substance, before promptly flicking it in Marinette’s hair.

Marinette sputtered, nearly tripping over the edge of the counter while she tried to move away. “Why would you do that?”

Chloé shrugged, looking disinterested. “Because you need a makeover.”

Marinette gawked at her before scooping some up and flicking it back at Chloé. The blonde’s jaw fell open and her expression was that of major disbelief. The dark haired girl stuck her tongue out at her, taking the cup of flour and the rest of the butter.

She returned to the stove where Adrien had managed to stir out all the lumps and bubbles, now gaining a smooth mixture. Better, but not at all eligible to put in the oven. She dumped the two additional ingredients, and though it wasn’t perfect, the mixture slowly became solid enough to form a ball.

Upon looking around, Marinette noticed that most of the other groups weren’t faring much better. Ivan was waving his spoon in the air, a large ball of the mixture clinging to it harder than it should be. Alya, Juleka and Rose were frantically trying to shut off the stove as the water boiled over. And last but not least, Marinette glanced over to Kim’s group just in time to see him dump an egg into their mixture.

The entire egg.

Marinette shuddered, silently reminding herself not to eat any from that group.

She looked back to her own group, and watched as Adrien attempted to crack an egg. Attempt being the key word.

He was obviously trying to be gentle, but he slammed it too hard down on the counter edge. The shell instantly caved under the pressure of his hand, spilling over his hand and onto the floor. Marinette knew that if it had been anyone else, she would’ve been displeased at the scene, but it wasn’t just anyone else. It was Adrien, who just cracked an egg all over his hand and looked like a model while he did so.

“Adrien,” Marinette intervened, handing him a cloth. “You stir while I pour the eggs in, how about that?”

Adrien at least had the dignity to look only mildly embarrassed by his mistake, and took the cloth gratefully. “I think that’s for the best.”

Marinette took notice that Chloé had disappeared as her and Adrien worked together for the duration of the next few minutes, finishing up the mixture and then dumping them into the oven.

Now onto the custard.

The process went quite smoother than Marinette had initially expected, inwardly congratulating herself on not being an entire fool in front of her crush. She handled the vanilla bean while Adrien kept watch over the rapidly heating milk, making sure it didn't curdle. They both started on the second part of the custard, and halfway through the procedure they had to take the cream puffs out of the oven.

That’s when Chloé decided to return.

The blonde waltz right up in between her and Adrien, setting her eyes on the bowl of custard. “Is this the custard?”

Adrien nodded enthusiastically, looking proudly at their group effort. “Yeah, it looks great, doesn’t it? Marinette practically did all the work, she’s really great at this.”

The model didn’t catch the red blush rising to Marinette’s face as he turned around to the sink and started to clean the dishes; but Chloé certainly did, and that might have been the explanation for what happened next.

With Adrien’s attention on the dishes, and Marinette trying to desperately find the piping bags, it left Chloé with nothing to do except to stare at the bowl of filling. She glanced back at Adrien, making sure he was distracted for sure, before picking up a glob of the custard and flinging it at Marinette.

A loud squawk came from the usually quiet girl, and when she whipped around she saw Chloé stifling her laughter. Patience running on a low fume, Marinette grabbed the whole bowl from the counter, proceeding to then throw the contents at Chloé.

Except Chloé saw it coming.

And she ducked down before it hit her.

Marinette’s heart leapt through her throat, a garbled warning spewing from her mouth; but it was too late. Adrien was innocently pouring soap into a pot, and looked up to perhaps ask a question, or maybe to start a conversation, but neither of them would ever know because instead he was plastered with a face full of custard.

Adrien shoulders instantly tensed up from the cold, sticky feeling now adorning his face and his eyes screwed shut to avoid anything getting in them. Chloé was on the floor looking like she might burst into laughter or burst into a fit of rage, while Marinette gaped like a fish out of water. The whole class had watched the encounter, and reactions ranging from doubling over in laughter to gasping in worry arose from the audience.

“Marinette, what is the meaning of this?” Miss. Bustier walked over to examine the situation, and the dark haired girl finally sprung into action.

“It was an accident I swear!” She grabbed a nearby hand towel, and took it upon herself to start cleaning the custard off Adrien’s face. “I am so sorry, Adrien!”

Adrien, bless his patient soul, just chuckled softly. “It’s alright, Marinette. It tastes good at least.”

Marinette rubbed the towel gently across his face, making sure to take the goop out of his hair as well.

Miss. Bustier sighed in exasperation, looking defeated. “I will not mention this incident to anyone if all of you don’t.”

Everyone nodded.

“However,” their teacher turned to Adrien, Marinette and Chloé. “You three will never be working together again, or at least until you can learn to not throw your food at people.”

At that particular moment Marinette wasn’t sure if that was the best or worst news of her school life, because on the one hand she’d never have to work with Chloé again, but on the other, it also meant that she’d never be able to work with Adrien. Yet, true to their word none of the classmates told anyone else and they were allowed to continue having field trips and excursions outside of the school.

And there may or may not have been photo and video evidence of the incident, but Adrien and Marinette didn’t need to know that.


	3. I've Got Your Back

Prompt 3: I've Got Your Back

...

Adrien was very stressed, and over one of the simplest things.

It was routine in his day-to-day agenda to do what’s expected of him. It’s been a constant in his life since he was a child. Modelling, fencing, Chinese lessons, and basketball he could all handle, it was something he’d been doing for a long time. Public school and Chat Noir came later in his life, but they’ve been adding extra stress recently. As a cherry to top it all off, this week had been non-stop raining, and he hates the rain.

He’s exhausted. And stressed.

His anxiety is also kicking in, but that was his own doing. The situation he faced was simple for most kids his age. Most children could ask to talk with their parents and have a conversation about whatever was on their minds. Adrien wasn’t most children.

He had been wanting to talk to his own father for quite a while now, but his father had been less than willing. This morning, however, Adrien asked Nathalie to tell his father that he wanted to speak to him. She agreed. Ever since, his mind hadn’t stopped reeling and his stomach hasn’t stopped churning.

He arrived to school in a comfy sweater and a simple pair of jeans and his hair was flopping around his face. He ignored the odd stares from his classmates and teachers, and Nino’s attempt to make him happy was for naught. He could see the dark sky and the drizzling of rain through the classroom windows, souring his mood further, and he assumed by Chloé’s avoidance that he looked awful, because if she wasn’t willing to go near him then something was definitely wrong. Then he almost fell asleep during his third class, and once lunch rolled around he just wasn’t up for anything.

“Dude,” Nino said as he slid into the chair beside him. “You look awful.”

Pushing his head up, he looked around their table and noted that only the guys were present. The girls had started a tradition to eat lunch at Marinette’s bakery every Friday (minus Chloé, she was never invited, and by association Sabrina never joined in either), thus the boys were left to their own devices.

Adrien sighed through his nose, looking down at his tray of food. It looked extremely unappealing. “Thanks for the compliment, makes me feel a whole lot better.”

Nino smiled sheepishly, laughing a bit nervously. “Sorry Adrien, I really didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know, I’m sorry for being so cranky with you.” Adrien glanced up again, facing the rest of the occupants at the table. “So, how is everyone?”

“I think you should be asking yourself that question,” Nathaniel suggested, taking a sip from his water bottle afterwards. “How much sleep are you getting?”

The model shrugged. “Not enough, apparently.”

“You know, the average student is supposed to get approximately nine and a half hours of sleep, yet most only get around seven hours? You could always see a doctor to test for insomnia or any other conditions that might prevent you from sleeping,” Max supplied helpfully.

Adrien smiled for the first time that day, grateful that he had friends to give him advice. “Thanks Max, really, but it’s actually not my biggest issue is right now.”

And even if it was, he couldn’t go to a doctor about it because that would mean Adrien Agreste had a problem and he couldn’t be any less than perfect, now could he?

“Then what’s on your mind?” Ivan joined in the conversation, eyebrows knitted in concern.

Adrien sighed, resting his face in his hands. “I want to quit modelling.”

It was muffled because of his hands covering his mouth, but he was sure everyone heard it. A silence took over the table, and wasn’t lifted until Kim spoke a few moments later. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

Max jabbed an elbow to the athlete’s ribs, effectively silencing him. “Try to be a little more sensitive.”

Adrien heaved an even bigger breath, not wanting to explain himself. He looked up and faced them anyway, struggling to say what he wanted. “I just don’t like it anymore. I mean, with everything else in my life it’s just another thing to pile on top of all my stress, so I want to quit.”

Everyone stayed silent, so he took it as a sign to continue on.

“I also really don’t like modelling, and I really just do it to make my father happy. I've been wanting to quit for a long time but I-I have to ask my father first, and I know he’ll say no, or he won’t actually want to talk to me, s-so I asked Nathalie to tell him and I don’t know how he’ll respond and I’ve been thinking about it all day-”

“Dude,” Kim interjected, eyes wide. “You literally look like you’re about to cry.”

Adrien took a deep breath, realising he had been rambling quite loudly. He sniffed, not even realising that his eyes were getting wet. He wasn’t crying, but Kim was right: he was about to.

Max whipped a glare at Kim’s direction. “Good job at being more sensitive.”

Nino put an arm around his shoulder, a worried look crinkling up his face. “So this all falls back to your father?”

Adrien nodded, not willing himself to give a verbal answer.

“Man,” Ivan grumbled. “I don’t even know your father that well and I don’t like him.”

Adrien smiled sadly, looking up through teary eyes. “Yeah, he can be a sort of a downer...”

“So you’ll be talking to him after school, right? Well don’t worry!” Nino leaned in closer, offering a little more comfort for his best friend. “We’ve all got your back dude, and it’ll all be chill in the end.”

Ignoring Adrien’s look of disbelief, Kim loudly declared, “if your father gives you a hard time, I’ll come and rescue you from your house! Just say the words and I’ll be there!”

Nathaniel piped up next. “I’ll provide a place for you to stay.”

“I’ll bring comfort food and my pet kitten to take your mind off it!” Ivan offered sweetly.

“I will be ready with a nine page essay to give to your father on why it is not acceptable to listen to his child’s needs if he comes looking for you,” Max said, the gears in his mind already turning with ideas.

Nino patted his shoulder, giving his declaration last. “And I will always make sure you never have to model again if you don’t want to.”

If Adrien thought he was ready to cry before, than it was nothing compared to now. He started to tear up after Ivan mentioned his pet kitten, because if there was one thing he loved it was kittens, and really all of their suggestions were so thoughtful and kind. How did he end up with such nice people as his friends?

Taking a deep breath, he finally worked himself up to express his appreciation. “You guys are literally the best. Thank you.”

“Anything for my best bud,” Nino responded, giving him one last side-hug before returning to his food. “Now eat your food, we don’t want you passing out during P.E. later.”

Everyone fell back into a more pleasant conversation afterwards, and if Adrien was a whole lot happier for the rest of the day nobody asked why, not willing to ruin his mood.

…

Nino was working on a new music piece later that night when he got a text from Adrien.

It sent relief flooding through his body. He’d been worried since school let out that day, because although Adrien had left in a rather happy mood, the blonde still had to talk to his father.

At lunch he started questioning Gabriel’s parenting methods, because if any child is on the verge of a panic attack just from the thought of having a real conversation with their parent, then Nino is only left to assume the worst.

(He’s also been starting to guess that Adrien has some major anxiety problems that are contributing to his additional problems, but Nino never worked up the courage to ask).

Anyway, he answered his phone immediately, not bothering to even stop his track from playing.

Nino spent a moment reading the text, smiling down at the screen once he read the news. Adrien’s father had come to a compromise, and it seemed as though Nino wouldn’t have to call for the Adrien protection squad. Adrien texted him a message a moment later, letting him know  that he was going to bed, and he’d fill him in tomorrow.

It was still far from perfect, and Nino would have liked to see his best bro gain his ultimate goal. But this works for now, and he’s more content with the fact that Adrien knows people will have his back when he needs it.

So Nino tells him goodnight and good luck, because that’s all he can do for now.


	4. Morning Compliments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting this chapter yesteday, school just started and it's already giving me a run for my money~. Anyway, I'm now one prompt behind everything, but hopefully I'll catch up this weekend.

Prompt 4: Morning Compliments

...

None of the class were really sure when their little class tradition started, but all of them were grateful for the morning compliments they recieve nowadays. Miss. Bustier was the one to suggest it, and it became something special to them.

Miss. Bustier was a perceptive person by nature; it was just a skill that had developed ever since she began teaching. It was a really useful skill to have in her profession because it gained her insight to her students problems and how to treat them effectively. It was simply _devastating_ to see so many students filled with stress over school, and then having to also deal with the threat of Hawkmoth.

She figured that something had to be done over the issue. It took her awhile for her to gain any ideas for her students well-being that accommodated to everyone’s personalities. All it took for Miss. Bustier to get a solid solution was watching two of her students compliment each other.

On their way out the class door, Rose had once complimented Myléne on her new hair clips, knowing the timid girl had been having a rough day. The utter look of happiness and joy displayed on Myléne’s face had been enough to put the notion in Miss. Bustier’s head that all these poor kids needed was acceptance from those around them.

So, the next day she had proposed the idea. It had been awkward at first, displaying what they really thought about each other in front of the entire class. As time progressed it got much easier though, and slowly but surely they grew more comfortable having a meaningful small talk with whoever they were paired with, and to this day they kept up with it, leading up to the current morning.

Miss. Bustier smiled as she watched her first pair walk to the front of the classroom, Sabrina and Ivan. Once they stood side-by-side Miss. Bustier smiled encouragingly.  “Ivan, would you like to start?"

“Sure!” He turned to his partner and made eye contact, giving her his full attention. “I think your hair looks really nice today, Sabrina.”

Sabrina smiled wide, obviously grateful for the compliment. “Thanks! I love your new t-shirt Ivan.”

Ivan grinned even wider than Sabrina had, eyes lighting up. “Thanks so much! I was worried no one would like it.”

Sabrina shook her head, quickly correcting his insecurity. “No, Ivan, it looks great! And you should wear what you want to wear, no what you think others want you to wear.”

Ivan looked so relieved. Both participants were happy with how it went, and walked back to their seats shortly afterwards.

Miss. Bustier called for the next group, “Juleka and Alya”

The girls shuffled over to front, and similar to the last group, made eye contact with each other. Alya knew that Juleka was a bit soft spoken and shy, so she took it upon herself to dish out the first compliment. “Girl, your makeup is simply divine today!”

Juleka blushed, as she did every time someone would compliment her. She had changed her makeup slightly that morning, feeling in the mood for a slightly brighter and happier look than her usual dark tones. Brushing back her hair, she mumbled, “thanks Alya, and I, um, really like your hair today.”

Alya beamed, and said her thanks to Juleka, then both sat down.

“Next pair is Marinette and Chloé.”

The class grimaced, knowing how tense this round would be. Marinette and Chloé both hesitated to walk up, and dragged their feet along the way as they went. Both girls stood awkwardly and stiff, glaring down at wood floor.

Miss. Bustier raised an eyebrow, asking sternly but still kindly, “is there a problem, ladies?”

Marinette sighed, shaking her head. “No, Miss. Bustier.” She then turned to Chloé and awkwardly said,  “your shoes are very clean today?”

Chloé turned her nose up, clearly not satisfied with Marinette’s compliment. “Well, you look a bit cleaner than usual too, I guess.”

Marinette gave her a cold stare, and both quickly returned to their chairs before Miss. Bustier could say anything.

“Thanks, ladies,” Miss. Bustier said, cutting the awkward silence. “Now we will have Kim and Nathaniel, please.”

The athlete bounced right out of his chair, excited and ready for the activity while Nathaniel hesitated and lingered before shyly walking up to the front. Even after all this time, the redheaded teen still had yet to be comfortable when all eyes were on him.

Sensing the shorter boy’s panic, Kim went first. “I saw some of your new comics on the school website, dude. They were fantastic!”

Nathaniel perked up, a little more eager now that they were sliding into a more comfortable conversation. “Uh, yeah, me and Marc are working on another comic, so thanks Kim. I really like your new running shoes. The colours go great with your sweater.”

Nathaniel’s compliment was a little more awkward, but it still held meaning and truthfulness. Kim patted him on the back, then headed towards his seat, Nathaniel behind him.

“Next we have Rose and Max.”

Rose squealed in delight, always eager to dish out kind words to her fellow classmates. Max simply smiled at her joyous attitude, letting her walk past first, then following right behind.

The bubbly girl hardly couldn’t contain herself, starting off loudly and chipper. “Max I really, really like your new glasses, they look so cool!”

“Thanks, Rose,” Max said, polite but very grateful. “Your new bracelets go very with your outfit today, good choice!”

Rose grinned wider, if even possible at this point, responding kindly, “thank you so, so much!”

They walked back to their seats while the teacher called out the next two names. “Myléne and Aix next please.”

Both walked up to the front of the room, clearly happy with the partner they were paired with. Alix went first, pointing at the accessories in Myléne’s hairband. “Really like the new pins you got there, Myléne.”

The slightly shorter girl giggled, sending a glance to Ivan, before turning back to Alix. “Thanks, Ivan got them for me. And I really love your new wrist watch, it looks so detailed.”

Alix looked down at her wrist, stating, “yeah, my old man gave it to me. Pretty cool I guess. Thanks, Myléne!”

The two girls returned to their seats, and Miss. Bustier announced the last pair. “Last but not least, Adrien and Nino.”

The two boys shared a look, grinning wide. They slid up to the front, standing directly in front of each other, face-to-face and making direct eye contact. Nino started, clearing his throat first before asking, “bromeo?”

Adrien didn’t miss a beat, responding with, “yes, brotato?”

Nino stepped in closer, making a dramatic scene of resting his hands on Adrien’s arms, whispering loud enough for the now silent room to hear, “you're my sunshine, bro, you mean the world to me.”

“Bro, same here,” the model stepped in closer to, now only an inch away. “You're my entire world bro.”

“Bro.”

“Brotato.”

The whole class was watching with wide eyes, not entirely sure if they were being dramatic or if something more serious was going down. Their answer became clear once Adrien and Nino broke away after a moment, laughing and wheezing.

Everybody groaned, slumping back down in their seats. The show was over and nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Miss. Bustier just sighed, tension leaving her body. “Alright you two, sit back down.”

They returned to their seats, stifling more laughter when they turned to see everyone’s reactions. Alya glared at her boyfriend as he sat down, leaning in to whisper, “how long have you guys been planning that?”

Nino answered, “actually we didn’t, I guess we both just had the same thought.”

Adrien and Nino shared a fist bump in the first row, not catching Marinette’s little mumble of, “Adrien would make a great Romeo.”

  
Miss. Bustier gained everybody’s attention back to the board, and class returned to normal. She was immensely happy with the outcome of today’s compliments, and everyday she looked more forward to seeing what her students would do tomorrow.


	5. I Won't Abandon You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in a while, school's been a real storm so far and it's been taking up most of my time. Anyway, updates from now on will not be as long as the last one. So, without further ado, chapter 5~

Prompt 5: I Won't Abandon You

...

Myléne was in a crisis, one that needed fixing very soon. An akuma had attacked while she was in the washroom and she had proceeded to panic before thinking of a logical solution. She had darted into the courtyard, but it had seemed as though she was too late to hide with the rest of her class.

The doors to all the classroom’s were locked and the only place to hide was in the locker room or bathroom. Nobody was hiding in either of those places, meaning that she would have been alone.

That was the last thing she wanted.

Her overriding fear of being alone quickly replaced her fear of akuma’s and she started to call out desperately.

“Is anyone here?! Can I hide with somebody, please?!”

It was dead silent, except for distant noises of the battle. She tried again, a bit louder and more hysteric. “Can I hide with anybody?! There’s an akuma and I have no one to hide with, please!”

A loud boom rattled off from somewhere nearby, and she sprinted.

Upon reaching the upper level she pounded on the classroom doors, starting to scream, “please, anybody, let me in!”

In her heart, she knew exactly why they weren't letting her in. They had no idea whether an akuma was lulling them into a false sense of safety, or if it was something else entirely. Even though she knew this, her mind was certainly not agreeing with these facts at the moment, or with the fact that instead of begging for someone maybe she should go and hide or else the akuma would come and eat her up and-

“Myléne, thank goodness!”

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of another voice cracking through her muddled thoughts, but when it registered she turned around with the biggest smile gracing her face.

“Ivan!”

Her boyfriend came closer and simply picked her up, running back the way he came and into the equipments closet. After settling Myléne down, he made sure to double lock the door, and push some of the heavier contents against it.

“I was so worried,” Ivan breathed out, finally turning to face her in the darkness of the room. “I went looking for you as soon as I realized you weren’t in the classroom with everyone.”

Myléne hugged him around the waist, and felt him return the gesture without a second's hesitation. “Thanks, Ivan. I was really scared.”

“I’ll never ever let an akuma get to you, Myléne, you know that, right?” Ivan asked in all seriousness. Even though the notion was sweet, they both knew that it was only that. Akuma’s were dangerous, and Ivan had no practice fighting them. The best he could do was protect his girlfriend from any harm, but he’d never be able to be the hero that Ladybug and Chat Noir were.

Myléne smiled graciously, murmuring, “I wasn’t as sacred of the akuma this time as I was of being alone. Everybody had already hidden themselves and I thought everyone left me alone.”

“Hey, don’t think like that. You know that they have to close the doors and keep them locked,” Ivan reminded her gently.

“I know, I truly do. But I didn’t want to hide by myself, so when no one answered their doors I just thought that I had been abandoned.”

Ivan knelt down to his smaller partner and latched his hands to her shoulders. He may not be the best at communicating through words, but his actions and emotions hopefully conveyed to her that he would never be able to say. “Myléne, I will never do that to you.”

She seemed to understand the deeper meaning of love behind his eyes and grinned. “And I will never abandon you.”

They huddled up close on the floor of the closet for the remainder of their time in hiding, catching up on their day so far and talking about anything that would prevent them from thinking about the akuma reeking havoc outside.

A while later, a loud thud echoed from the door, and then they heard the P.A. system announce that the akuma had been dealt with. Ivan proceeded to unlock the door and hesitantly peek out, making sure that the akuma was indeed gone. Seeing the coast clear, he let out a breath of relief and gestured for Myléne to follow him.

They both saw other students and teachers doing the same, and soon enough the signal was given to go back to their next class.

Ivan and Myléne reunited with their own classmates, every member looking pleased that the two were safe and sound.

“Thank goodness!” Rose squealed, pulling both Myléne and Ivan into a tight hug. “We heard the commotion outside, we thought something had happened to you!”

Myléne simply smiled, looking up at her significant other and smiling, “It’s okay, guys. I know you did what you had to. Besides, Ivan would never let anything happen to me.”

“Even so, when Miss. Bustier heard you outside she was ready to ignore every akuma protocol and bust open the door herself.” Kim commented, recalling Miss. Bustier’s determined and angry face.

Ivan grinned, knowing that their teacher would have protected Myléne if he hadn’t. Everyone was so trustworthy and helpful, and he was grateful to have friends like them. Friends that would never abandon Myléne or himself.


End file.
